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Moscow 2015
The was the sixth round of the 2015 DTM Championship, held at the Moscow Raceway just a few miles away from the Russian Capital. 'Season guide: Moskau', dtm.com, (DTM, 2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/event/2015-moskau?language=en-gb, (Accessed 02/05/2015) The two races were held at the end of August, with the Championship returning to Germany for the final three rounds after the Russian rumble. Marco Wittmann, defending Champion, looked set to claim his second victory of the season after taking pole for the first time in 2015 for the first race.'DTM MOSCOW RACEWAY: RACE 1 AT A GLANCE', dtm.coom, (DTM, 29/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dtm-moscow-raceway-race-1-glance-2015-08-29.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) But, it was not to be as Pascal Wehrlein claimed his second race win of the season instead to snatch the lead in the Drivers Championship. Race two, meanwhile, saw Mike Rockenfeller claim his first win in two years from pole, as snatched back his Championship lead. Background Before the weekend, the focus was on Timo Scheider and Audi, after the German veteran's dubious manouevre on Robert Wickens and Pascal Wehrlein at the Red Bull Ring.'DMSB PRONOUNCES SENTENCE FOR GAMESMANSHIP', dtm.com, (DTM, 26/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dmsb-pronounces-sentence-gamesmanship-2015-08-26.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) The DMSB investigated the incident over the break, slapping a charge of 'Gamesmanship' on Scheider, Audi and their boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Scheider received a two race ban (on top of the disqualification issued after the race), Dr. Ullrich banned from the pitlane for the rest of the season, and Audi hit with a 200,000 fine. The radio message by Dr. Ullrich to Scheider was the deciding factor, with the doctor ordering the driver to hit Wickens. The result of the weekend also affected Audi in the Brands/Manufacturers Championship, as they lost all of their points from the second race in Austria. That said, the points for the drivers and teams themselves was not affected, meaning remained at the head of the Championship, leading Edoardo Mortara by thirteen points. Wehrlein completed the top three as best of the Mercedes in third, while Bruno Spengler led the BMW charge in seventh. With Team Phoenix employing a rookie for the Moscow double header in Antonio Giovinazzi, their chances of starting a late comeback in the Teams' Championship were remote.Ziegler, Stefan, 'F3 leader Giovinazzi to replace Scheider at Moscow', motorsport.com, (Motorsport.com Inc., 28/08/2015), http://www.motorsport.com/dtm/news/f3-leader-giovinazzi-to-replace-scheider-at-moscow, (Accessed 29/08/2015) Out in front were HWA AG, with their tally of 150 points beating the best of the Abt Sportsline teams by twelve points, with Team Rosberg completing the top three. BMW, however, were not mounting the comeback that their Zandvoort performance showed, with their best team Team RMG down in sixth. Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying (Race One) A hazy Saturday morning greeted the paddock for qualifying, with cool conditions meaning the circuit was slippery but the engines produced more power to compensate.'MARCO WITTMANN CLAIMS HIS FIRST DTM POLE OF THE SEASON', dtm.com, (DTM, 29/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/marco-wittmann-claims-his-first-dtm-pole-season-2015-08-29.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) Marco Wittmann ended the session on pole after a superb final lap to beat Pascal Wehrlein and Jamie Green to pole, as all three manufacturers found themselves in the top three. Timo Glock had looked set for pole before the final laps, unable to improve on his earlier time. The rest of the top ten was headed by Tom Blomqvist, with the rookie taking a career best fifth with his final lap, beating Championship leader on the third row. Bruno Spengler claimed seventh having been a strong force in practice, joined by Miguel Molina on row four, with Daniel Juncadella and completing the top ten. With just three and a half tenths of a second separating the top ten drivers, Race One was set to be an exciting one. A little over a second covered the entire field, although it was Christian Vietoris and Martin Tomczyk who were left to share the back row. Débutante Antonio Giovinazzi faired better than that experienced duo, as he claimed nineteenth, almost seven tenths off Wittmann, and just behind Lucas Auer in eighteenth, another 2015 rookie. Post Qualifying (One) The results of the qualifying session for the first race are displayed below: Race One Fortunately for the field, the circuit on Saturday afternoon was bathed in bright warm sunshine, with the race expected to be as close as it had been in qualifying. The Championship battle was set to be tightened in the first race, as Pascal Wehrlein started ahead of , although the young German would most likely need to beat defending Champion, and pole sitter Marco Wittmann off the line to maximise his chances. Report Jamie Green made a good start from third, but Wehrlein and Wittmann did just enough to keep ahead, leaving Green to weave behind the Mercedes driver into the first turn. They immediately broke away from the rest, as a poor start for and Tom Blomqvist bunched the field up, with Blomqvist tumbling down the order as a result. That ultimately led to contact with Miguel Molina through turn one, with the Spaniard thrown into a spin in front of the pack, although he remained untouched as they thundered past. Or so it seemed, as Christian Vietoris, unsighted having started dead last and then got caught behind debutante Antonio Giovinazzi off the line, slammed into the rear of the Spaniard, putting both out of the race. With debris littering the circuit, and Vietoris' car catching fire immediately after (which the German was able to put out with help from the marshals), the safety car was called, neutralising the race. Unseen by the cameras, Paul di Resta and Mike Rockenfeller had come to blows in a minor incident, which the stewards opted to investigate after the race. The race restarted on lap seven, with Wittmann hoping to break away from Wehrlein and Green, but to no avail. Further down, was battling Augusto Farfus for seventeenth, with the German rookie besting him a little while later, while Ekstrom began to make his intentions to move past Timo Glock ever clearer. With DRS becoming active on lap ten, and with more than half the 40 minute race left to run, the action was set to intensify. But, a lap later, and the safety car was back on circuit, after contact between Ekstrom and Glock.put both in the gravel trap at turn nine. The Swede attempted to dive down the inside of the German into the left hander, although his late lunge ultimately carried him into the side of the BMW, spearing both across the gravel on the outside of the track. Significant body damage resulted for both, as they rebounded off the barrier and were left beached in the gravel, with marshals scattering back onto the circuit to remove them. Just three laps later, however, and the action was back on, with Gotz once again in a battle, this time for sixteenth with Martin Tomczyk. Up ahead of them, Adrien Tambay seemed to be struggling with something on the front of his car, the Frenchman unable to stay on the circuit through the corners. His retirement in the pits coincided with the activation of DRS for a second time, as Wehrlein once again became a thorn in Wittmann's side. With five minutes to go, and 20 laps completed, Wehrlein lined up a move on Wittmann into the final corner, looking to go around the outside of the final turn. It was an excellent feint, however, as Wehrlein suddenly dived down the inside of the Champion when the latter drifted wide to cover the move. With the lead in his hands, and Ekstrom now failing to score, Wehrlein was in the lead of the Championship, although Wittmann remained a threat. With a minute remaining, Wehrlein managed to break away from Wittmann, meaning the latter was denied DRS, to the advantage of Green, who was now the one pestering the BMW. But, he was left frustrated in his attempts to get past on the penultimate lap, as Gary Paffett pulled a clean move on Blomqvist for seventh. As Wittmann and Green battled, an almost unseen Bruno Spengler moved into striking position, only needing a mistake from either one in order to get past. There was to be one late twist, as Green lost time trying to pass Wittmann, delaying him down the back straight into the final corner. That was the opening that Spengler needed, as he managed to slip past the Brit down the straight, and almost managed to open the door for Daniel Juncadella to get fourth too, although Green slammed it shut in the final corner. But there was no denying Wehrlein, as he calmly took victory from Wittmann, with Spengler third. Wehrlein's day was made all the more better when Ekstrom was handed a three place grid penalty for race two after the stewards reviewed his incident with Glock.'DMSB DECISION: EKSTRÖM PENALISED FOR COLLISION WITH GLOCK', dtm.com, (DTM, 29/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dmsb-decision-ekstr-m-penalised-collision-glock-2015-08-29.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) The Swede was judged to have been 'too optimistic' when trying to pass the German, and was therefore the guilty party for causing the accident that followed. Result The full result from race one is displayed below: ** Ekstrom awarded a three place penalty for causing a collision. Qualifying (Race Two) A warm Sunday morning greeted the field for the second qualifying session of the weekend, which promised faster times and ever smaller gaps across the field.'ROCKENFELLER CLAIMS POLE POSITION FOR SUNDAY RACE', dtm.com, (DTM, 30/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/rockenfeller-claims-pole-position-sunday-race-2015-08-30.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) This was proved by Mike Rockenfeller who claimed pole with a 1:28.540 lap time, just 0.038s faster than in second. Unfortunately for Ekstrom, he had to serve a three place grid penalty after causing a collision on Saturday, meaning he dropped behind Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green and Maxime Martin. Pascal Wehrlein's victory on Saturday, and the subsequent pace of the Mercedes caused many to predict that the three pointed start would do well in qualifying. However, the ultra small margins between the cars in Moscow meant that Gary Paffett was their best place driver in seventh and their only car in the top ten. Wehrlein was just two tenths off of Rockenfeller's time, but was left down in eleventh on the grid. With just over eight tenths of a second covering all 24 cars on the grid, the margin for error was nil, as Martin Tomczyk qualified dead last for BMW, sharing the back row with Christian Vietoris. Debutante Antonio Giovinazzi improved on his Saturday pace to claim sixteenth, beating most of the Mercedes entries, with three quarters of the field separated by just half a second. Post-Qualifying (Two) The results of qualifying for race two are shown below. ** Ekstrom serves a three place grid penalty for causing a collision in race one. Race Two Like the morning quali session, the afternoon on Sunday was dry and warm as 24,000 fans arrived at the circuit, optimistic for another exciting race around the Moscow Raceway.'DTM MOSCOW RACEWAY: RACE 2 AT A GLANCE', dtm.com, (DTM, 30/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dtm-moscow-raceway-race-2-glance-2015-08-30.html, (Accessed 30/08/2015) With Mike Rockenfeller on pole, at the circuit where his last victory came from in 2013, many thought that the German was favourite to win, if he could fend off Bruno Spengler. Report It was an even start from the front row men, as Spengler got alongside Rockenfeller into the first corner, before attempting to run the German off the track.'Race 2 Highlights - Rewind - DTM Moscow 2015', youtube.com, (DTM: YouTube, 30/08/2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhSm-pxxFPU, (Accessed 30/08/2015) Rocky, however, bit back, and snatched the lead through turn two, sweeping across the front of the BMW to take the inside line. Further down, a few drivers scattered across the outside of the first corner to avoid making contact, Antonio Giovinazzi running the widest of all to fall to the very back of the field. With DRS set to be activated on lap four, Rockenfeller needed to get a second ahead of Spengler in the opening stages to give himself the best opportunity of winning in the race. And, by the start of lap five, he had done so, with Spengler left to fend off Jamie Green, who had been hounding him since the second corner of the first lap. At the back, was handed a drive-through penalty for causing a collision, after replays showed that he and Giovinazzi had made contact that had resulted in the Italian taking an unusual line through the first corner. Pascal Wehrlein, Championship leader, found himself in a duel with Edoardo Mortara throughout the first half of the race, with the Italian successful in defence. Wehrlein was successful when he tried the same move on Mortara that he had used to pass Marco Wittmann in Saturday's race, but was left frustrated as the Audi managed to out-drag him into the first corner. Up ahead, Wittmann was launching a wave of unsuccessful attacks at for seventh, with the pit window opening after the 20 minute mark, eleven laps having been completed. Green was the first man into the pits, but he almost collided with Augusto Farfus on the way out, being released from his pitbox right into the path of the Brazilian. That also delayed Wehrlein, who ultimaltly lost out to Mortara, again, as a result, with Green going unpunished. Robert Wickens, meanwhile, was slapped with a drive-through for speeding in the pitlane, before being referred to the stewards after he was found to be travelling down the pit lane at 104 km/h, significantly faster than the 65 km/h limit. Lucas Auer ran in the lead for a while, becoming the last man to stop after being mugged by , Maxime Martin and Green in the final corner as their three way duel for the final podium spot rushed past. Wehrlein, meanwhile, was beginning a fight back from his pit delay, weaving past Tom Blomqvist with ten minutes left to take tenth, before beginning a charge to catch Muller and Mortara in eighth and ninth. With eight minutes to go, Ekstrom was desperately trying to find a way past Martin for third, as Wehrlein's charge only needed to carry him past Muller and Mortara and he would remain in the lead of the Championship. The Swede attempted to sling a move down the inside of the Belgian into turn nine, where he collided with Timo Glock in race one, but throught better of it. That little piece of experience paid off, as he then dived down the inside of the BMW into the final corner, snatching third and the Championship lead. The closing stages saw Wehrlein's charge begin to falter, with the young German having to settle for tenth place at the finish. Rockenfeller, meanwhile, continued almost forgotten at the front to take his first win in two years for Audi, ahead of Spengler and Ekstrom. Martin was successful in defending fourth place from Green, while Gary Paffett ended a quiet race as best of the Mercedes in sixth. Results The second race final result is displayed below: Milestones * Standings continued to lead the Championship having briefly lost it to Pascal Wehrlein on Saturday after the young German's victory. Wehrlein, for his part, was now second, swapping places with Edoardo Mortara, with Jamie Green dragging himself back into serious contention. With 23 points covering the top four, the final part of the Championship was set to be ultra-competitive between them. Bruno Spengler led the Bavarian contingent, and could be considered an outside contender for the title in fifth. HWA led the Teams' Championship into the final third of the Championship, leading nearest challengers Abt Sportsline by 23 points. They represented the best of the Mercedes and Audi teams, although it was the Ingolstadt marque that led the Brands' Championship, despite losing their points from race two in Austria. BMW were almost 50 points off the Mercs, with BMW Team RMG leading their charge in fourth. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:2015 Races Category:Moscow Category:Races